Brian Running
2017-11-11 20:47:24 UTC
Hey -
Looks like a few people still check in here every now and then, so I
thought I'd say hey.
I'm still playing the same Spectors that I was back when this place was
busy, the only major pieces of gear I've bought in the last 15 years or
so are a Mark Bass CMD 121P combo amp and New York 121 extension cab.
About 30 pounds apiece, the rig is loud and very good sounding. One
lightweight trip from the car, with the gig bag slung over my shoulder.
Sweet.
I've been busy playing, almost too busy when work and family are
considered. About a year ago, I was in the pit for "Gypsy" in a local
theater production. 13 shows in two weeks is a grind, but it's a lot of fun.
We had a full summer of church festivals, corporate parties, weddings,
street festivals, beer gardens, the Wisconsin State Fair (I played twice
at the fair this year, with two different bands) and the odd bar gig
here and there, because... well, I honestly don't know why we do bar
gigs. I hate them with a passion. We have a wedding a week from today,
and then finally, blessed relief - no gigs booked after that for a while.
One band I was in dissolved, which is really disappointing, it was a lot
of fun. Guitar, bass, mandolin and cello, we called ourselves Riffwood.
Played a little bit of everything, strictly instrumentals. I miss it a
lot, so I'll try to get something like that going again. The main band
I'm with now is Stray Voltage, and I occasionally sub for a country band
called Cowboy Up. There are probably videos on YouTube or Facebook of
all three of those bands, if you care to look.
Just last week, I pulled the pickups and electronics out of my Spector
Re-Bop and replaced them with EMG 40DC pickups and the EMG BTS System
pre-amp. The EMG HZ pickups and Spector Tone Pump pre sounded great,
but they were noisy as hell. They especially picked up noise from LED
lights, and with LEDs becoming more and more prevalent on stage, it got
to the point of intolerability. The new pickups and electronics are
dead silent, but I still haven't had them on a stage loaded with LED
lights, wireless mics, etc., so we'll see. They sound great, though,
and add the ability to get a really grindy rock tone when the bridge
pickup is soloed. I've read some reviews that say the 40DCs are "thin"
and "brittle" sounding, but they are absolutely not. I don't know where
people get that notion.
Finally sold my old Fender American Deluxe Jazz V, which I had bought as
my 40th birthday present to myself. A nice bass, but it was just sitting
around gathering dust, and a bass like needs to be out getting played. A
guitarist friend's high-school age son bought it, and he's giving it the
attention it deserved. Plays it every day at school and in a garage he
and his buds put together.
I'm about to start another re-election campaign, so time for music will
be pretty limited for me. Usually, we slow the band down in the winter
anyway, and work on developing new material for the next season. We
added a female singer, so our repertoire can expand a lot. It's always
interesting to see what bandmates suggest for new tunes, it reveals a
lot about them - sometimes, things you'd rather not know. :-)
If anyone's interested in a couple of EMG HZ pickups (4", 5-string-size)
and a Spector tone Pump circuit, I've got some to get rid of, let me know.
Well, happy gigging, everyone. 'Til next time.
Looks like a few people still check in here every now and then, so I
thought I'd say hey.
I'm still playing the same Spectors that I was back when this place was
busy, the only major pieces of gear I've bought in the last 15 years or
so are a Mark Bass CMD 121P combo amp and New York 121 extension cab.
About 30 pounds apiece, the rig is loud and very good sounding. One
lightweight trip from the car, with the gig bag slung over my shoulder.
Sweet.
I've been busy playing, almost too busy when work and family are
considered. About a year ago, I was in the pit for "Gypsy" in a local
theater production. 13 shows in two weeks is a grind, but it's a lot of fun.
We had a full summer of church festivals, corporate parties, weddings,
street festivals, beer gardens, the Wisconsin State Fair (I played twice
at the fair this year, with two different bands) and the odd bar gig
here and there, because... well, I honestly don't know why we do bar
gigs. I hate them with a passion. We have a wedding a week from today,
and then finally, blessed relief - no gigs booked after that for a while.
One band I was in dissolved, which is really disappointing, it was a lot
of fun. Guitar, bass, mandolin and cello, we called ourselves Riffwood.
Played a little bit of everything, strictly instrumentals. I miss it a
lot, so I'll try to get something like that going again. The main band
I'm with now is Stray Voltage, and I occasionally sub for a country band
called Cowboy Up. There are probably videos on YouTube or Facebook of
all three of those bands, if you care to look.
Just last week, I pulled the pickups and electronics out of my Spector
Re-Bop and replaced them with EMG 40DC pickups and the EMG BTS System
pre-amp. The EMG HZ pickups and Spector Tone Pump pre sounded great,
but they were noisy as hell. They especially picked up noise from LED
lights, and with LEDs becoming more and more prevalent on stage, it got
to the point of intolerability. The new pickups and electronics are
dead silent, but I still haven't had them on a stage loaded with LED
lights, wireless mics, etc., so we'll see. They sound great, though,
and add the ability to get a really grindy rock tone when the bridge
pickup is soloed. I've read some reviews that say the 40DCs are "thin"
and "brittle" sounding, but they are absolutely not. I don't know where
people get that notion.
Finally sold my old Fender American Deluxe Jazz V, which I had bought as
my 40th birthday present to myself. A nice bass, but it was just sitting
around gathering dust, and a bass like needs to be out getting played. A
guitarist friend's high-school age son bought it, and he's giving it the
attention it deserved. Plays it every day at school and in a garage he
and his buds put together.
I'm about to start another re-election campaign, so time for music will
be pretty limited for me. Usually, we slow the band down in the winter
anyway, and work on developing new material for the next season. We
added a female singer, so our repertoire can expand a lot. It's always
interesting to see what bandmates suggest for new tunes, it reveals a
lot about them - sometimes, things you'd rather not know. :-)
If anyone's interested in a couple of EMG HZ pickups (4", 5-string-size)
and a Spector tone Pump circuit, I've got some to get rid of, let me know.
Well, happy gigging, everyone. 'Til next time.